Lock for a knitting machine



Dec. 12, 1961 M. WULLIMANN 3,012,424

LOOK FOR A KNITTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 9, 1959 INVE NTOR Max WuIhmann BYATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofifice 3,012,424 Patented Dec. 12, 19613,012,424 LOCK FOR A KNITTING MACHINE Max Wullimann, Selzach, Solothurn,Switzerland Filed Feb. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 791,894 Claims priority,application Switzerland Feb. 13, 1958 18 Claims. (Cl. 6677) Thisinvention relates to a lock for a knitting machine, particularly a handframe of the type having two needle beds, the lock comprising adjustablemeans for varying the type of knitting produced on the hand frame, suchas plain knitting, circular knitting for producing seamless tubularstock, or for obtaining special ornamental or fancy stitches such asheld stitches, and for varying the size of the loops.

In prior constructions of knitting machines a relatively high number ofindividual actuating members such as knobs or handles were required forcontrolling all the adjusting movements necessary for changing theknitting type and the size of the loops. In the most modern knittingmachines each lock was still provided with at least four adjusting knobsor handles so that in the general case eight different manipulations hadto be carried out when changing rom one adjustment of the machine toanother. "ince such hand frames are used by persons having littleknowledge of the construction of the apparatus and of textile arts ingeneral, it was very difiicult to sufiiciently explain the differentpossibilities of the machine to such persons and therefore they neverbecame familiar with the machines. Therefore, simple and cheap machineshaving less adjusting possibilities were preferred.

It is the first object of this invention to simplify the adjustingmechanism and operating means of knitting machines to such a degree thathandling of such machines becomes as easy as handling of any of thesimplest machines already known and that the price of the machine isreduced in a manner allowing a great number of persons to buy such amachine. This is rendered possible, in accordance with this invention,by the use of a lock of the type having a pair of wing cams operativealternatively for lifting and lowering the needles, such wing cams beingadjustable for choosing different types of knitting operation andvarying sizes of the loops, and this lock being characterized by controlmeans for the said wing cams, centralized in one place, for adjustingthe loop size and for adjusting the knitting type respectively. Onesingle actuating knob may be subdivided into two portions, this knobconstituting the control means centralized in one place, from where thewing cams may be adjusted for diderent operation as regards loop sizeand knitting type. V

The attached drawing illustrates, by way of example, one embodiment ofthe invention. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the lock plate and of a portion of the needlebed;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the lock plate;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line Ill-J11 in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 4 to 6 schematically illustrate different characteristic positionsof the wing cams for plain knitting, circular knitting for producingseamlesst'ubular stock and knitting with one type of ornamental or fancystitches respectively.

The embodiment shown has an adjustingknob assembly on top of its lockplate 1, this knob assembly comprising an upper portion 2a and a lowerportion 2b.' The lower knob 2b serves for adjusting the loop size, thelatter being indicated in values 1": to 10 on a scale 3 of the lockplate 1 By means of the upper knob 2a" a 'programelement comprising adisc 13 may be adjusted for determining the type of knitting operationin a man'- ner explained later on, the type of knitting operation beingindicated on a scale 4 of the lock plate.

A plate-shaped slide 5 is mounted in contacting relation with the innersurface of the lock plate 1, this slide being adapted to be shifted inits own plane in a direction transversely to the longitudinal axis ofthe lock, that is transversely to the moving direction of the lock. Theslide 5 is guided by means of pins 6 riveted into the lock plate 1. Theslide has pivot pins 7 and 8 and a substantially circular centralopening 9 having a control cam 10 projecting from the rim of theopening. A cam disc 11 is rotatably mounted in the opening 9, this camdisc being fixed on a hollow shaft carrying the lower knob 2b. Twosprings 12 continuously tend to shift the slide 5 upwards as seen inFIG. 2 thereby maintaining the control cam 10 in engagement with the camdisc 11. By rotation of the cam disc 11 the slide 5 may be adjusted toone of ten distinct positions, such positions being determined by theangular position of the cam disc 11 and of the adjusting-knob 2b, thelatter having a spring loaded rest device 35 (FIG. 3) maintaining thecam disc 11 and knob 2b in one of ten distinct angular positions.

The program disc 13 is superposed to the slide 5, the shaft of thisprogram disc 13 passing through the hollow shaft of the cam disc 11 andcarrying knob 2a. The program disc 13 has three stop lugs 14 equallydistributed along its periphery and a further stop lug 15 on its face.All these stop lugs 14 and 15 are bent in a manner to project from theplane of disc 13. The program disc 13 has five distinct rest positionsdetermined by engagement of a rest pin or rivet 2S futed on a leafspring 24 with holes 26 of the disc 13, such rest positionscorresponding to the five positions of scale indicating different typesof knitting operation.

Symmetrical wing cams 16 are rotatably mounted on the pivot pins 7 ofthe slide 5, such wing cams 16 being able to pivot inwardly towards eachother and towards the program disc 13'. Each of the wing cams 16 isgenerally U-shaped or angle-shaped and has a stop lug 17 (FIG. 2 and 3)bent towards the program disc 13 and adapted to cooperate with stop lugs14 and 15. In the rest condition of the knitting machine the wing cams16 are maintained in contact with stop lugs 19 of the slide 5 by meansof springs 18. Two auxiliary wing cams 20 are rotatably mounted on thepivot pins 8 and are maintained in contact with a lower rod 21 by meansof springs 18, such springs being arranged between wing cams 16 and 2t).Rod 21 is fixed on the slide 5. An upper stationary rod 22 fixed on thelock plate 1, carries an auxiliary cam 23 for lowering the needles. Thefaces seen in FIG. 2 of rods 21 and 22, of the auxiliary cam 23 and ofthe wing cams 16 and 20 are in a common plane, butts 27 of the needles28 of the knitting machine projecting beyond this plane. Consequentlythe needles are actuated by the side surfaces of the above mentionedelements 16 and 20 to 23 when the lock is shifted along the needle bedof the machine. Further, a substantially triangular needle guiding cam23 is mounted in practically the same plane, this guiding cam 29 havingsymmetrical beveled side surfaces 30. The needle guiding cam 29 ismounted on a free arm of leaf spring 24 so that it is adopted fordisplacement transversely to the plane of the needle bed. Stationarycams 31 for lifting the needles are fixed on the lower rod 21, andfurther stationary cams 32 for lowering the needles are fixed on theplate 5. A pair of symmetria cal cams 32 is provided, but the righthandcam has only been shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. All the wing cams andstationary cams with the exception of cam 23 are mounted on thevertically shiftable slide 5. Resilient leaf springs or tongues 33 areattached to the outer extremities of the stationary cams 32, the needlebutts being moved 7 to the upper or lower side of such tongues whenengaged by the free ends of such tongues. It was found that a rigid edgewould not be able to properly displace a needle to the one or other sideof a cam when this edge engages the needle butts exactly centrally.However, a resilient tongue as shown at 33 will slightly be bent to theone or other side under the pressure of needle butts abuting against itduring displacement of the lock through the needle bed, whereupon theneedle is moved to the one or other side, but jamming of the lock willnot occur. The lock is slidably mounted by means of flanges engaginggrooves of the needle bed 34.

The knitting operation per se, that is the displacement and cooperationof the needles with each other and with the yarn fed to them is wellknown in the art and is not a subject of this invention. Similarly theparticular operation of a twin-bed knitting machine is not an object ofthis invention and will not be described. This invention only relates tothe particular structure of the lock and the manner in which thespecific movements of the needles well known in the art for producingdifferent types of stitches and knitting products are controlled by thislook.

When thelock is shifted to the right the needles will pass through thelock from the right to the left as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4.Assuming that the program disc has been adjusted to N, that is normal orplain knitting, as shown in FIGS. 1 to A, the butts 27 of the needleswill be lifted by the righthand wing cam 20 to such a level thatthey-will engage the righthand wing cam 16 above its substantiallyhorizontal lower lug (no reference in the drawing). Since the needlescannot be displaced without overcoming a minimum friction thereof in theneedle bed, the righthand wing cam 16 is displaced by the pressure ofthe needles until its stop lug 17 abuts against the righthand outer stoplug 14 of the program disc 13, this wing cam being thereby maintained inits operating position as shown in FIG. 4. The needles are lifted whensliding along the righthand wing cam 16 and, after having left the upperend of the wing cam 16 they will abut against the auxiliary cam 23 bywhich they are lowered into a position wherein the yarn is fed into theneedles. The needles are maintained in this position until the lefthandwing cam 16 engages them, whereafter the needles sliding on thislefthand wing cam 16 are lowered to a position depending on the positionto which the slide 5 carrying the wing cams has been adjusted. Since theneedle position determined by the stationary cam 23 and wherein the yarnis fed to the needles, is independent from the position of the slide 5,but the needles are retracted from this position more or less inaccordance with the vertical adjustment of the slide 5 and the wingearns 16 mounted thereon, the mesh size may be adjusted withinpredetermined limits by vertical adjustment of the slide 5 in the mannerset out above. On further displacement of the lock relatively to theneedles the latter will engage the lefthand wing cam 24 which is liftedby the needles into its ineffective position as shown in FIG. 4 and doesnot further displace the needles. The operation is symmetricallyopposite when the lock is shifted back from the right to the left,because both win g cams 16 are equally maintained in their operatingposition by the outer stop lugs 14 of the program disc 13;

When the adjusting knob 2a is displaced to position R, that is to roundor circular knitting, the program disc 13 is turned to the positionshown in FIG. 5. The needles running through the lock in the directionindicated by an arrow (FIG. 5) :are first lifted by the right hand wingcam 20 and on further relative displacement to the left the so liftedneedles will engage the righthand wing cam 16. Since, in the positionshown in FIG. 5, no stop lug 14 of the disc 13 is kept in the path ofthe stop lug 17 of the righthand wing cam 16, the latter will be pivotedto its lowered inoperative position shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, theneedles are not lifted and will normally pass to the lefthand wing cam16 below the auxiliary earns 23 and 29 without knitting, whereafter theyare shifted to their lower rest position by the lefthand wing cam 16.When the last needles are sliding off the upper free end of therighthand wing cam 16 the latter tends to rock upwards under the actionof spring 18 anchored to it, due to the reduced biasing pressure of theneedles. In this moment it is possible that at least one needle may belifted by. the already rising wing cam 16 to an undesired high level.Usually such needles are lowered again to the desired level by the loweredges of the cam 29. It is possible that needles lifted to the level ofthe beveled side surfaces 30 of cam 29 will not be lowered by this cambut will slide transversely over it pressing it downwards.

When the lock is again shifted to the left the same operations willoccur as above set out for normal or plain knitting position, that is,the needles will be lifted to knitting position by the lefthand'wing cam16 which is supported by the center stop lug 14 of the program disc 13.With the use of two similar simultaneously operative locks in a knittingmachine having two needle beds a seamless tubular knitting product isobtained in a manner well known in the art byalternative operation ofone of both locks during alternative forward and backward motion of thelocks. This invention is'not concerned with the generally knownoperation of double-bed knitting machines for producing seamless tubularstock but only with the particular mechanism allowing adjustment of thelock cams actuating the needles. It is possible to knit tubular stockround in clockwise or anticlockwise direction by shifting the programdisc 13 from its normal position to the position shown in FIG. 4 or tothe symmetrically opposite position and vice versa for the other locknot shown in the drawing. This is also seen on scale 4 where righthandand lefthand positions are provided indicated R for knitting tubulararticles. 7 V

FIG. 6 illustrates the position of the lock portions when disposed inposition P for knitting a particular pattern comprising held stitches.When the program disc 13 is turned to the position of FIG. 6 one of thecam lugs 14 is in a position for supporting the stop lug 17 of therighthand wing cam 16. The lefthand wing cam 16 will pivot downwardlywhen engaged by the needles coming from the left because no stop lug 14is in a position to support the stop 17 of this wing cam. However,

the stop 17 of the lefthand wing cam will abut against the stop lug 15of the program disc 13 and will be supported by this stop lug in anintermediate position as shown in FIG. 6, for which the needles arelifted by the lefthand wing cam 16 to a level at which the yarn is fedinto the needles but the meshes held on such needles are not knitted offduring this stroke of the lock. This is the condition well known per seto be fulfilled for producing a pattern comprising held stitches andcalled patent knitting in Switzerland. The needles are passing above thecam 29 to the righthand wing cam 16 by which they are lowered to theirrest position. When all the needles have left the lefthand wing cam 16the latter is rocked upwards to its stop lug 19 and during the nextreturn stroke of the lock the needles are lifted by the righthand wingcam 16 to normal knitting position, so that a normal knitting operationwill take place as explained above with reference to FIG. 4 whereby theheld stitches of the pattern are formed. When one of both locks isadjusted to the position shown in FIG. 6 whereas the other lock remainsin norma -position as shown in FIG. 4, a first kind of pattern will beproduced, whereas another pattern comprising held stitches isproducedwhen both locks are adjusted to the position of FIG. 6. Again, theparticular manner in which the needles are displaced for producing heldstitches with the one or both locks is well known in the art and thisinvention only relates to the novel arrangement of the cams producingthe displacement of the needles and to the adjusting mechanism for. suchcams.

A further advantage of this invention consists in the provision of azero-position or idle position (indicated on scale 4), this positionbeing preferably used when knitting with yarns of different colour. Forthis zeroposition the program disc 13 is in a position symmetricallyopposite to the one shown in FIG. 6, for which position none of the wingcams 16 will be supported by any of the stop lugs 14 or 15 of disc 13and therefore these wing cams are both able to pivot to the fullyinoperative lowered position shown for the righthand wing cam in FIG. 5.The machine will not effect any knitting operation and the locks may bedisplaced as desired for adjusting them to a desired start position.

It is a particularly important feature of this invention that the wingcams 16 are mounted on the vertically displaceable slide serving forpreselecting the mesh size, so that such wing cams are always displacedwith the slide. 5. This feature substantially simplifies theconstruction of the lock but requires a design of the stop lugs 14 andand the stop lugs 17 that proper cooperation there f is not affected bythe displacement of the slide 5 a wing cams 16 respectively.

Of course the program disc 13 may have another suitable form and insteadof lugs 14 and 15 pins or other projecting elements may be used. On theother hand the disc may be completely flat and recesses or indentationsmay be worked into this flat disc wherever the wing cams 16 should notbe supported by the disc. In this case the disc 13 may be produced in anabsolutely flat state by stamping.

It is a particular object of the invention to allow rapid knittingwithout causing jamming or blocking or defects or faults in the knittedproduct, this being possible due to the dilferent auxiliary cams 23, 29and 32, such cams preventing the needles from being shifted beyond thenormal positions by impacts and sudden accelerations. As an example theauxiliary cams 31 and 32 will guide :the needles closely along the wingcams 16 and 20. Further, the upper edge of the guiding cam 29 preventsneedles from being excessively thrown downwards by the auxiliary cam 23.

What I claim is:

1. A lock for a knitting machine of the type having a machine bed andneedles adapted for upward and downward displacement in the machine bedand which is displaceable in a forward and a return stroke along themachine bed in a direction substantially perpendicular to thedisplacement of the needles, comprising operating means adapted forcooperation with the needles for upward and downward displacement of theneedles when the lock is displaced along the machine bed, a number ofneedle-lowering operating positions for the operating means determiningthe magnitude of the downward displacement of the needles and firstcontrol means for common adjustment of the needle-lowering operatingpositions, operable needle-lifting positions and an inoperable positionfor the operating means, second control means for selectivelymaintaining the operating means in one of the operable needle-liftingpositions and for lifting the needles in accordance with the one omrableneedle-lifting position during the forward and return strokes of thelock, and first and second actuating means associated with the first andsecond control means respectively such first and second actuating meansbeing centralized in a common place.

2. A lock according to claim 1, wherein said actuating means comprisecontrol knobs mounted on concentric shafts each connected to one of saidfirst and second control means.

3. A lock for a hand knitting machine of the type having a machine bedand needles adapted for displacement in the said machine bed and thelock being adapted for displacement in a forward and a return strokealong the said machine bed, the lock comprising a pair of wing cams,each of the said wing cams being adapted for alternative operationduring the said forward and return strokes of the look as a lifting andlowering cam respectively for lifting and lowering the said needles,first control means for common adjustment of the said wing cams in adirection substantially perpendicular to the displacing direction of thelock along the machine bed and substantially parallel to the displacingdirection of the needles, and second control means associated with thesaid wing cams for selectively maintaining such wing cams in anoperative position as a needle-lifting cam during the said forward andreturn strokes of the lock, first and second actuating means associatedwith the said first and second control means respectively, such firstand second actuating means being centralized in a common place.

4. A look according to claim 3, the said second control means comprisinga rotatably mounted program element having stop means for supporting thesaid wing cams in their said operative position as a needle-lifting cam.

5. A lock according to claim 4, the said wing cams being mounted in amanner allowing rocking of both wing cams towards said program element.

6. A look according to claim 4, the said program element comprising adisc having stop lugs projecting from one face thereof, and the saidwing cams having stop means adapted for cooperation with the said stoplugs.

7. A lock according to claim 6, comprising first, second third stop lugsregularly spaced from each other along the periphery of the said disc,these stop lugs supporting the said wing cams in a first operativeposition as a needle lifting cam, and a fourth stop lug Within the saidface of the disc adapted for supporting one of the said wing cams in asecond operative position as a needle lifting cam.

8. A lock according to claim 7, comprising two wing cams symmetricallydisposed relatively to the said disc, a first control position of thesaid disc wherein the said first and third stop lugs thereof aresymmetrically located relatively to the said wing cams and are operablefor supporting such wing cams, a second and third control position ofthe said disc wherein the said second stop lug is operative forsupporting the one of the said wing cam respectively, and a fourthcontrol position of the said disc wherein the said first stop lug isoperative for supporting one wing cam whereas the said fourth stop lugis operative for supporting the other of said wing cams.

9. A lock according to claim 8, the said wing cams having upper andlower ends and being mounted on pivot pins with their said lower ends,spring means normally urging said wing cams to a rest position whereinthey are inclined with their upper displacea'ble ends towards said discis disposed between the wing cams.

10. A lock according to claim 3, comprising a common plate-shapedcarrier for the said wing cams, the said carrier being displaceable in adirection substantially transversely to the direction wherein the saidlock is displaceable along the machine bed, an opening in the saidcarrier, an inward projection on the rim of this opening, the said firstcontrol means having a control cam rotatable in the opening andoperatively engaging the said projection, the said plate-shaped carrierbeing adapted for displacement upon rotation of the said control earn.

11. A lock according to claim 3, having outer auxiliary cams forlowering the needles, leaf springs being provided at the outerextremities of such auxiliary cams for properly directing needlesrunning against them to the respective side of the auxiliary cam.

12. A lock according to claim 3, of the type having an auxiliary cam forlowering the needles substantially in the middle of the lock forshifting the needles into a position for feeding the yarn to theneedles, a further needleguiding cam being arranged below the saidauxiliary cam for limiting the lowering action of this auxiliary cam.

13. A lock according to claim 12, the said needleguiding cam havingportions adapted for lowering needles.

14. A lock according to claim 12, the said needleguiding cam beingresiliently suspended and adapted for resilient lateral displacement ina direction substantially perpendicular to a plane comprising theneedles.

15. A look for a knitting machine, particularly a hand frame of the typehaving a machine bed and needles adapted to be operated by the lock, thelock being adapted for displacement in a forward and return stroke alongthe said machine bed and comprising a pair of Wing cams, each of thesaid wing earns being operative alternatively during the said forwardand return strokes of the lock as a lifting and lowering camrespectively for lifting and lowering the said needles with the size ofthe needle lifting stroke and the kind of stitches respectivelydepending upon the position of the wing cam operable as a needle liftingcam and the size of the needle lowering stroke and the loop sizerespectively depending on the position of the wing cam operable as aneedle lowering cam, control means for determining the position of thewing cams during the said forward and return strokes of the lock,

and actuating means for adjusting the said control means determining thewing-cam positions, the said actuating means for each wing earn beingcentralized in a common place. 5 V

16. A lock fora knittingmachine of the type having a machine bed andneedles adapted for upward and downward displacement in the machine bedand which is displaceable ina forward and a return stroke along themachine bed in a direction substantially perpendicular to thedisplacement of the needles, comprising operating means cooperable withthe needles for upwardly and downwardly displacing the needles when thelock is dis placed along the machine bed, first control means forselectively moving said operating means to one of a number of needlelowering, needle raising and inoperable positions determining the pathof movement of the needles, and second control means for selective andcommon adjustment of the operating means for determining the magnitudeof needle displacement during the said forward and return strokes of thelock, and first and second actuating means associated with the saidfirst and second control means respectively, such first and secondactuating means being centralized in a common place.

17. A lock for a knitting machine according to claim 16, wherein saidoperating means includes a pair of wing cams, each of which is operativealternatively during the forward and return strokes of the lock as alifting and lowering cam respectively for lifting and lowering theneedles, and the magnitude of needle lifting and the kind of stitchesrespectively depending upon the position of the Wing cam operable as aneedle lifting cam While the magnitude of needle lowering and the loopsize respectively, depending on the position of the wing cam operable asa needle lowering cam, said control means determining the position ofthe wing cams during the forward and return strokes of the lock. 2

18. A lock for a knitting machine according to claim 16, wherein saidoperating means includes a pair of wing cams, each of which isalternatively operable during the forward and return strokes of the lockas a lifting and lowering cam respectively for lifting and lowering theneedles, said second control means commonly adjusting said wing cams ina direction substantially perpendicular to the displacing direction ofthe lock along the machine bed and substantially parallel'to thedisplacing direction of the needles, said first control meansselectively maintaining said wing cams in an operative position as aneedle-lifting cam during the for-ward and return strokes of the lock.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES, PATENTS2,150,730 Schuessler Mar; 14, 1939 2,681,553 Chiti June 22, 19542,830,446 Opawa Apr. 15, 1958 2,958,214 Bram Nov. 1, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 246,631 Italy Apr. 1, 1926

